100Singers's video: 100 Singers - THEO ADAM

Theo Adam, Bass-Baritone (1926-2019) Richard Wagner: PARSIFAL "Wehevolles Erbe, dem ich verfallen ..." Conducted by Otmar Suitner My personal opinion: "Memories are the only paradises from which we cannot be expelled", said poet Jean Paul. But in DER ROSENKAVALIER the Marschallin reminds us that "Time is a strange thing". Anew I had to learn that time glorifies our memories: I've heard again a very old recording of WINTERREISE, sung by the Dresden born bass-baritone Theo Adam. I was surprised and couldn't believe my ears: Was this really the voice of the famous Theo Adam, who had a career of nearly half a century? Was this really the same singer, who was once celebrated as an important Wagner interpreter all over the world? That Theo Adam, sent by the former German Democratic Republic as a cultural ambassador to the free Western world? I was confused by a lowbrow Schubert rendition: Virtually every vowel was distorted by Adam with a glaring brightening, the voice itself sounded in a grotesque way disembodied and hollow. Schubert still represents the high art of singing, but this WINTERREISE was too frosty for me ... In his book 'Grosse Stimmen', author Jens Malte Fischer expressed his view that the career of Theo Adam has been made possible only by two crucial factors: Hans Hotter, born 1909, was already too old and the Canadian bass-baritone George London was forced due to his serious illness to end his career in the 1960's at the age of only forty-six. Adam sang his first Wotan at the Bayreuth Festival in 1962. The next thirteen years he became the "father of the gods on duty", as Adam expressed it. "The years as Wotan in Bayreuth were my best." For Chéreau's 1976 staging of the RING (the so-called 'Jahrhundertring'), Theo Adam was replaced by Donald McIntyre. Adam had sung the three Wotan's (resp. Wanderer) in Bayreuth (1962-1975), London (1967-1968) and New York (1969-1988). The recording of the RING under Marek Janowski (1980-1983) is the first with same singers in same roles in all four operas. Just as in a 1966 live recording under Karl Böhm, Theo Adam's Wotan is characterized by a vehement dramatic declamation. It is a performance that comes dangerously close to the depths of a second-rate theater. Once again I'm disturbed by the constant phonetic deformation of words and phrases. Sometimes the voice is downright unsteady, even flickering. The famous Otto Klemperer recording of DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER confirms the previous impression: Adam's rendition of the great monolog ("Die Frist ist um") is - in view to worn out vocal effects - a performance unworthy for a singer of his fame. Meanwhile I'm really not surprised by the statement of a spiteful German critic: "We owe Theo Adam the most annoying Wagner singing we had to suffer after the war." Several times Theo Adam said that his idol was Hans Hotter. But if, for instance, we listen to the sonorous voice of Hotter as HOLLÄNDER (under Clemens Krauss, 1944), it becomes evident that Adam could not hold a candle against the great bass-baritone. Compared to Hans Hotter, Theo Adam sounds sharp and clumsy. Many years ago, as a young and inexperienced opera-enthusiast, I did not notice how rough he sang his roles. Another sad confirmation is Karl Böhm's FIDELIO recording with Theo Adam as Pizarro; Here too, the singer camouflages with intense declamation that his voice in truth is quite insubstantial. This becomes all the more obvious when Rocco enters the scene, sung by the splendid Franz Crass (1928-2012), who gives with his warm voice a fine demonstration of smooth and melodious singing. Another famous recording is the Dresden production of DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG, conducted by Karajan with effective imagination. Theo Adam, a GDR figurehead, sings the primary role of Hans Sachs - clearly a political decision even Karajan had to follow. Adam tries his best to find the right soft expression, but a delicate singing in pianissimo is not his strong point, especially as the voice is affected by a rasping sound. Adam would have been a better choice for Beckmesser, but a homemade star in a secondary role was certainly not in the interest of the influential 'MfK', the mighty Ministry of Culture. Theo Adam (as well as Peter Schreier, Annelies Burmeister, Rosemarie Lang, Günther Leib or Reiner Süss - to name a few) was many times exposed on the Eterna label in GDR prestige recordings, occasionally in co-production with the EMI company. It goes without saying, that politics and culture have never created a happy marriage. And perhaps it speaks for itself, that the name of Theo Adam is only rarely found on the cast lists of international recording productions. The former East German foreign policy and its opera stars: It was a win-win partnership with a very strong bond ... Theo Adam died January 10, 2019 aged 92.